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A. T. SHERWOOD.

VOLTAIG BELT.

No. 335,637. Patented Pebp9, 1886.

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ANDREWV T. SHERIVOOD, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

VOLTAIC BELT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 335,637, dated February9, 1886.

Application filed February 9, 1885.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be known that I, ANDREW T. SHERWOOD, of the city and county of SanFrancisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in VoltaicBelts; and-I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same.

My improvement in electric belts relates, first, to an improved mannerof constructing and combining the plates of different 1netalssuch aszinc and copperand the interlying fibrous substance which compose theseparate elements of a voltaic battery, and the manner of connectingthese elements together, so as to form a battery which is capable ofgeneratingan electric current for therapeutical purposes; and, second,by the covering-belt, which supports and envelops the batteries, toprotect the clothing of the wearer from being soiled by the excitingliquid which is used for saturating the fibrous material.

It also consists in a means for connecting the ends of the belt and incertain details of construction, all of which will be more fullydescribed by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1is an enlarged view of one of the links of my belt, showing itsconstruction. Fig. 2 is a view of the belt with the folding envelope orcover, showing a part of it turned up to expose the metallic portion ofthe belt and showing its connections. Fig. 3 shows the manner ofconnecting it. i

In the construction of my belt I employ plates of zinc a and copper b,which may be struck up by machinery or otherwise. formed, so that eachplate is curved and returns upon itself, its outer end being bentbackward, so as to form a hook, 0, into which the link d is secured. Theopposite end of the copper plates lie between the two sides of the zincplates, and the corresponding ends of the zinc plates in the same mannerliebetween the two sides of the copper plates. A strip of any suitableporous material, esuch, for inadjacent parts of the metallic plates atand b, and the whole is then pressed together, so that the interposedporous material lies between the adjacent portions of the plates andkeeps them out of contact. As many of these plates may be loopedtogether as may be necessary Serial No. 155,430. (No model.)

to form a current of the desired intensity, a plate of zinc being unitedto an adjacent one of copper, while the zinc plate of that section isagain united to the copper plate, and so on to the end.

In the construction of my belt I prefer to arrange one half of it sothat the current will pass toward the center and the other half in thesame manner, only reversing the position of the plates so that thecurrent in both por tions passes toward the center.

A is a strip of webbing or any suitable material, having plates l3 fixedto it at intervals, these plates having hooks, as shown at 0, so thatthe metallic portion of the belt heretofore described may be supportedby these hooks. The belt A is fixed upon a strip of rubbercloth or othersuitable non-porous material, which is something more than double thewidth of the belt A. The upper portion of this strip folds over theoutside of the belt A and the metallic belt which is supported by it,and this covers it entirely and keeps it'out of contact with the personor clothing when it is thus applied. This non-porous folding cover mayhave an exterior surface lined with cloth or other suitable material.

A plate, D, which is fixed to the center and connects with a hook, 0,upon the central part of the belt, is supported so that the two currentspassing from the outer ends of the metallic Voltaic belt will meet atthis plate, and will pass from it through any conductor with which itmay be placed in contact. The belt being placed around the person orarticle through which the current isto be passed, the ends of the web ofthe belt A may be united by an elastic strip, which may have a hook orclasp to make the connection, as shown. Upon the center of thisconnecting-piece, and at a point just opposite the plate D, is anothersimilar plate, D, which is connected with the hooks G upon its exteriorsurface.

The opposite or outer ends of the metallic belt a b have the insulatedflexible wires H attached to them, and these wires have loops at theiropposite ends which may either be attached to the hooks G, or, when atruss is to be worn in connection with the belt, these wires areconnected with the truss. The plates D D, through which the connectionis made, may be formed in various ways. In the present case I have shownthe portion which lies upon the inside of the belt and next to the bodyas being a circular convex plate, and the rear portion, which is flat,is cut in the same shape, so that its upper and lower edges may befastened to the upper and lower edges of the outer plate. The sides ofthe rear portion are cut off, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to allow thebelt to pass through the opening thus formed between the two plates.This allows the device to be adjusted and moved to any point upon thebelt where it may be desired to use it.

Upon the flat portion of the plate is fixed a spring-clip, hook, orother device, to which the voltaic belt or connecting-wires H thereofmay be attached in the manner hereinbefore described. 1

It will be seen that the united elements a b of which the voltaicportion of the belt is composed may be removed at any time from theirsupporting-hooks and rolled or coiled up, after which the roll may beset with one edge in a shallow dish containing dilute acid, which willsoon be absorbed by the porous substance, so that the latter becomesentirely wet with it. The outer surface being wiped dry the roll isreplaced within the clasps or upon the hooks, and the flap-cover may befolded over it so as to entirely cover and protect it. This form ofcover is especially useful, as it is easy to-apply and remove thevoltaic portion of the belt, and when the belt is not in use the covercan be thrown back so that it readily dries out, and all parts are opento inspection.

When the belt is applied to the body, the folding cover and the circularposition about the body keeps its place without any fastening, themanner of folding being sufficient to retain it.

The elastic strip or connection by which the ends of the main belt areunited is arranged so that it may be taken up at each end for thepurpose of keeping it in its place in the center at the front.

By constructing the voltaic portion of the belt of plates at b folded,as Ihaveshown them, the joints or links between each pair ofelements-are kept out of contact with the porous material containing theacid, which is thus only absorbed and held between the plates,

while the links are kept comparatively clear 1 of the acid, and afterthe plates have been removed from the acid the exterior can be wiped dryand the links be entirely clean,which pre vents their being destroyed bycorrosion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new,and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a voltaic belt or series, the plates a b, bent and interlocked, asdescribed, so that the sides of the plate overlap each other and theends of each are inclosed between the two sides of the adjacent plate,both plates having their opposite ends bent in the form of a hook, toreceive the links by which the sections are united, together with astrip of porous material folded so as to lie between the adjacentportions of the plates, to prevent metallic contact, substantially asherein described.

2. The combination of a circular convex plate having a flat plate unitedto its upper and lower rear edges, the sides of this plate being cutaway so as to form openings through which the belt may pass, and a hookor clasp fixed to the flat plate, whereby connection therewith may bemade or broken with the belting which supports the plate in the flexibleconnections H H, and the voltaio series, substantially as hereindescribed.

3. A voltaic belt composed of two sections so arranged that the currentspass from the outer ends to the center, and a plate through which theyare transmitted, a secondary belt having a series of hooks or clasps bywhich the metallic belt may be supported, a flexible non-porous coverattached to said belt so that it may be folded over it, and an elasticconnecting-piece by which the ends of the belt may be united, havingadjusting-clasps at each end and a central plate with clasps to whichthe ends of the voltaic belt may be connected, substantially as hereindescribed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ANDREW T. SHERWOOD.

Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, LEE D. CRAIG.

